"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."

Monday, November 30, 2009

Making Memories of Us, Part 1

I love Christmas, I really do, but I am the worst about decorating for it. Nick and I have not had a Christmas tree since our first year of marriage (2005!). We are usually away from home at Christmas, so there rarely seems to be any point.

Also, I always want to buy Christmas decorations but there are so many cute ones out there, that again, I just get overwhelmed and don’t know what to buy. I find that spending money overwhelms me… I want to spend it on worthwhile things because I work so hard for it, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out what is worthwhile! So as a result, every year I have vowed to buy Christmas decorations, and every year I can’t figure out what to buy and get fed up and don’t buy anything! I also feel frivolous when so many people around the world have real needs.

This year I am getting serious about Christmas because we have a baby coming, and I want him or her to have many special memories. It’s the holiday where we celebrate the savior of the world, so it should be special and magical! I’ll still give away a lot, but I need to work on appreciating the blessings that God gives me and not feeling so guilty about them.

I have wanted four Christmas things since we got married:1. A Lovely Nativity Set2. A Tree Skirt3. A Tree Topper, preferably an angel4. And to start a Department 56 village

Yesterday, I decided to just bite the bullet and buy a tree skirt, I knew the exact one I wanted from Pottery Barn so I went onto the Pottery Barn website. Nothing was going to stop me; I was determined! But then, the one I really wanted was too expensive once I really looked at the price, so I picked the next one down, which was still nice. Then I started looking around for other people, and they had a lot of wonderful neat gifts that I can’t get into because those people read my blog. By the time I had added my tree skirt and gifts, my tally was so high that I felt bad about spending that much money… so what did I do? I took off the tree skirt and just bought for other people. Are you getting an inkling of what has happened the past few years?

Then I stopped myself, and I decided that NO, I need to get something decorative for Christmas for myself. This is why I have no Christmas decorations, so I really need to take baby steps. So I bought a lovely ornament with Nick and mine’s initials, and I’ll put pictures into it of us. I am excited... even if it isn’t the Tree Skirt I wanted. I think I’ll just have a look around Target, the poor man’s Pottery Barn, this week and see what I can find for my Tree Skirt!

You should buy for you! You definitely deserve it! I get overwhelmed at spending money too around Christmas and finding that "perfect" something for my house, Christmas decor related. Have you checked out Garden Ridge. They have lots of cute inexpensive Christmas decor. I usually find ALOT there for very little. And don't feel bad about a Christmas tree ... We've only bought one the last 4 years and we're foregoing one this year.

Thanks for the tips on the Tree Skirt! I will look for the PB coupon, but I will probably end up getting another, cheaper one though. My mom pointed out that they always get covered up by presents anyway!